WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Results: Chris Jericho Does Not Win, What Happens Now?

It didn‘t happen.

Chris Jericho did not do what so many fans said he would do at WWE’s Royal Rumble on Sunday night. 

He did not win the main event.

After a few weeks of odd spots in which he would show up and just parade around with a goofy grin on his face, Y2J did get back to the business of wrestling, which we have all been waiting for.

At first glance, it seems the prospect of WWE handing the keys over to a legend who has, quite simply, not been there long enough to deserve the attention would have indeed been a mistake.

I know some fans are mumbling those very sentiments as we speak and, to be honest, I get where they’re coming from. After all, a guy like Jericho takes some time off, focuses on everything other than the business and then, before you know it, he returns and is thrust back into the main event scene.

However, it’s smart, it works and, yes, it does well in terms of gaining ratings for the WWE product.  It also perhaps shows an inclination by the company to leaning on time-tested, reliable Superstars to carry the ball for the rest of the team.

However, what about the remaining WWE roster who have been there, who do all the work and are supposed to be leading the company into the future?  What happens when a Chris Jericho comes back and steps right over them to headline Wrestlemania?

No need to worry about that now, right?

The fact is, a lot of what we’re talking about here means more to us as fans than it does to the guys involved behind the scenes.

To us, while it would have been cool to see Jericho go over in the Rumble, it also would have seemed like the easy way out.  For the Superstars in the WWE locker room, this is simply not the case.

Jericho is a pro, a veteran, a guy who has done so much in the business and a worker that so many of the boys respect and value as a performer.  I personally do not believe it would have made any sort of negative impact on them if Jericho had indeed gone over in the Rumble.

Instead, we have a winner in Sheamus, a man who has been there, towing the line for the company and doing everything necessary in order to return to that championship level.

Good news for Sheamus is that Jericho is the man who can help him get there.

Yes, Jericho is a veteran, and as a veteran he understands what his role is in terms of helping the next group of guys get where it needs to be.  I would not be surprised if Sheamus now enters into a program with Jericho, who could likely return to his very popular heel persona after not winning the Rumble.

I do not, however, believe Jericho will be returning to SmackDown on a full time basis, as he did just recently come back to the company, and he is much better on live TV.  Of course, these days, the separate Raw and SmackDown locker rooms are not so separate anymore, making this potential feud very possible, very quickly.

This scenario does throw a serious spin on the notion that Jericho was coming back to face CM Punk at Wrestlemania.  Winning the Rumble would have definitely set the wheels in motion, as Jericho would now be sitting pretty with a guaranteed championship match.

But, there’s nothing like a little drama, especially when it comes to WWE, so all of the fun from this point on will likely be in sitting back and watching what will happen on Raw.  How will Jericho react to not winning the Royal Rumble?  What will he say? Will he say anything at all?

I for one am surprised at how this Rumble turned out.  I was one of those fans who believed Jericho was headed for the win and for Wrestlemania.

But, rest assured, even without the win, Chris Jericho is most definitely headed to the big show in April.  

Can’t wait to see how he gets there.